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How accurate is the Jim Hill report that the Dreamfinder may return to Figment?
- Thread starter ssidiouss@mac.c
- Start date
tirian
Well-Known Member
Enderikari said:
He's occasionally--occasionally--correct...for example, when he found out the events surrounding John Lasseter's first visit to WDI (Jim Hill had the story pretty much correct). Of course, when Jim Hill talks about rumors, he presents them as extremely overhyped, fanboy-style snippets. I confess to reading them anyway for fun, even when I specifically know whether or not his report is correct. Guilty pleasure.
(This is the same reason many Imagineers read another popular online forum.)As far as Dreamfinder is concerned, there have been rumbles about the Imagination pavilion getting an extreme overhaul for a while now; and I highly doubt that the pavilion's future depends on the success of the newly revamped PotC (everyone knows it's going to be successful). At this moment, Disney is in such a honeymoon state with Pixar that if Lasseter wants to redo the pavilion, it'll happen.
One other thing about Hill: no matter what you think about his rumor columns, he is an excellent source regarding WDW and animation history.
tirian
Well-Known Member
Almost forgot:
Regardless of whether or not Hill is correct, the Company is willing to spend a lot of money on the parks right now for new attractions and refurbishments. Notice that the MK is slowly being refurbished and Epcot is getting new attractions. Considering that the Living Seas pavilion is practically getting a new ride and theming (WDI has added track to the former SeaCabs) and doesn't even have a sponsor, it's really not too far-fetched to assume that Disney will finally revamp what's possibly the worst-performing pavilion in Future World--Imagination. The popularity of HIStA doesn't count; Guests walk in, watch it, and leave without visiting the gift shop, Imageworks, or the dark ride. WDI knows that the Imagination pavilion needs a dramatic overhaul.
Regardless of whether or not Hill is correct, the Company is willing to spend a lot of money on the parks right now for new attractions and refurbishments. Notice that the MK is slowly being refurbished and Epcot is getting new attractions. Considering that the Living Seas pavilion is practically getting a new ride and theming (WDI has added track to the former SeaCabs) and doesn't even have a sponsor, it's really not too far-fetched to assume that Disney will finally revamp what's possibly the worst-performing pavilion in Future World--Imagination. The popularity of HIStA doesn't count; Guests walk in, watch it, and leave without visiting the gift shop, Imageworks, or the dark ride. WDI knows that the Imagination pavilion needs a dramatic overhaul.
PintoColvig
Active Member
For instance? How about a few examples that show he's deviated from the truth?Enderikari said:
*Pauses to wonder why I've suddenly become a Jim Hill apologist*
polarboi
Member
PintoColvig said:
I'm with you on this, Pinto. I have no particular fondness for Jim Hill, and I've only rarely read his columns, but I have never understood the Hill-bashing that goes on so frequently here.
From everything I've read, he seems to have pretty good information some of the time, even if his rumors don't all pan out. And if they don't, well, neither do all the rumors of any other rumor site I can think of.
I suspect it's just a case of personality. Some people don't like something about the way he comes across, and then everyone else jumps on the "bash Jim Hill" bandwagon to fit in.
There are really only a few people here with enough inside knowledge to have a good sense of how connected and/or accurate Jim's information really is. Everyone else just acts like they know so they can be cool.
(Even when he posts a rumor about plans that ultimately don't come to fruition, that doesn't mean his sources were wrong. It might mean the project didn't get greenlit, or was cancelled, postponed, or altered later on. Only the insiders know for sure.)Regardless, it sounds like Jim's information this time is right on and has a good chance of being greenlit. If so, I'm excited about the possibilities. I hope the imagineers really get to use their imaginations on Imagination.
-p.b.
mousermerf
Account Suspended
In terms of a timeline...
What about SSE then? It has to close to do any sort of refurb, and with Siemens throwing up a sign, you'd think they were planning to do something.
So, if Imagination is closed for 12 months, october to octboer, when does SSE close? Even with Seas up, closing them both is just not a good idea. They avoided this and even reopened Energy and then Horizons during the time Test Track is down. Being down a whole pavilion just isn't good.
Back when things were bleak attendance-wise, they struggled with having Imagination and SPACE/Horizons both closed. Other attractions in Future World were pretty much forbidden to have downtime - they ran them with every malfunction possible except safety issues. That's the only line they drew and that was imposed by management, from both operations and matainence. If a ride was down, everyone got penalized per minute they were down.
It got to the point of being downright vicious between the two areas. Each one blaming the other for the downtime.
Wonders could be open I guess. The math allows for it. Short of a power failure, you can't lose SPACE and you can't lose Body Wars, they both have independant operations per vehicle, and thus never truly go down.
I can imagine how unpleasently tight it will be on Holidays and such though.
I can hope they don't resort to large area-encompassing refurbishment walls. Those are what really cause problems, as push guests into certain areas, as walkways that dead end into them are untilized as well. Energy, Wonders, and Track were a mess on Holidays because of just how massive the SPACE walls became.
I do want this to happen though, I would like Imagination to be redone - just not at the cost of SSE's work and hopefully with some good logistical planning - reopening wonders, putting it on the map with descriptions, promoting the hell out of the minors like Energy, El Rio, and Maelstrom.
What about SSE then? It has to close to do any sort of refurb, and with Siemens throwing up a sign, you'd think they were planning to do something.
So, if Imagination is closed for 12 months, october to octboer, when does SSE close? Even with Seas up, closing them both is just not a good idea. They avoided this and even reopened Energy and then Horizons during the time Test Track is down. Being down a whole pavilion just isn't good.
Back when things were bleak attendance-wise, they struggled with having Imagination and SPACE/Horizons both closed. Other attractions in Future World were pretty much forbidden to have downtime - they ran them with every malfunction possible except safety issues. That's the only line they drew and that was imposed by management, from both operations and matainence. If a ride was down, everyone got penalized per minute they were down.
It got to the point of being downright vicious between the two areas. Each one blaming the other for the downtime.
Wonders could be open I guess. The math allows for it. Short of a power failure, you can't lose SPACE and you can't lose Body Wars, they both have independant operations per vehicle, and thus never truly go down.
I can imagine how unpleasently tight it will be on Holidays and such though.
I can hope they don't resort to large area-encompassing refurbishment walls. Those are what really cause problems, as push guests into certain areas, as walkways that dead end into them are untilized as well. Energy, Wonders, and Track were a mess on Holidays because of just how massive the SPACE walls became.
I do want this to happen though, I would like Imagination to be redone - just not at the cost of SSE's work and hopefully with some good logistical planning - reopening wonders, putting it on the map with descriptions, promoting the hell out of the minors like Energy, El Rio, and Maelstrom.
kaos
Active Member
mousermerf said:
If Energy and Maelstrom are minors, please explain what majors would be... I agree with everything that you've said except this. I also consider El Rio a minor (with potential), but Energy a minor? And Maelstrom? Wasn't it one of the more expensive builds done at the time? I don't think that's a minor.
I'm just curious as to what you would qualify as major and minor attractions.
Back in the day, all of Fantasyland was a C ticket...
jedimaster1227
Active Member
Enderikari said:
That isn't true, because some of the news he has reported, I have hoped that it wasn't true. Tirian is right, Jim has his moments. No matter what, he is still a source for news, we will just let you decide what you think of him.
tirian
Well-Known Member
His moments.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
:wave:
I think that Jim's problem is that he always reports the latest rumors and possibilities. Things change all the time (look at how long it's taken for anything to happen with our 20K lagoon); and when the latest rumor doesn't come to fruition, everyone blasts Jim Hill instead of remembering that it was only a rumor in the first place. He needs to be more careful when he "reports" things.
jedimaster1227
Active Member
tirian said:
And we need to be more careful about what we blast him for.
tirian
Well-Known Member
mousermerf said:
Honestly, the current version of Imagination doesn't pull in enough numbers to make any impact on Future World's other attractions. SSE is the only true crowd-swallower left in FW; but Soarin', TT, M:S (with its new Green experience), UoE, TLS, and other attractions would probably justify closing SSE anyway. Do you really think that refurbing SSE is going to make attendance go up at Imagination? Probably not. The 3D show will initially still be operating, and that's about the busiest area of the entire pavilion!
The only reason that Disney had to reopen Horizons and UoE for Test Track is that three huge pavilions, instead of just one, would have been down; and at the time, the Omnimover system in Horizons was desperately needed to keep crowd control decent in Future World East. Even if SSE and Imagination go down at the same time (and we still don't really know if they will), FW-W will still have the Land pavilion and TLS.
Just my thoughts. :wave:
jedimaster1227
Active Member
tirian said:
That is if The Living Seas is open when SSE and Imagination go down...:animwink:
I could care less about the info, because I have learned that nothing is rock solid until my rather large buttocks are firmly planted in the ride vehicle or attraction seat.Lee said:
Now for Jim Hill, just the mear fact he was running a for profit tour of Disneyland without the permission of Disneyland is enough for me to have no respect for the man.
jedimaster1227
Active Member
Magicot said:I wonder,if Imagination! actually gets this major refurb, will there be a name change as well? Might we see a return to Journey Into Imagination? Just something to ponder...
That would be nice, wouldn't it!
